CHAPTER 1

The ashen, weak Hand that broke through the mound of broken Tree, Burnt Leaves, and ashes Reached out to hold something. Weakly Swinging left and right before Managing to Grab An Undamaged Root That once belonged to the poor tree from earlier.

A low groan was suddenly heard as the Mound of Ashes and burnt Leaves Started Growing larger. Cracks Appeared from the once smooth surface of ash Before a Humanoid figure slowly emerged from it.

Slightly Muscular body, Long, Messy Black hair that covers The figure's face. The Humanoid, using The Tree root that he grabbed As support, He Managed to Pull himself out from the Strike site.

Under the bright, Sunny Light of the day, The humanoid figure stood in full glory. It was no other than Luke, The Man that was Killed Due to A Car accident.

At this moment, Luke didn't know what to say. What to think. What to do. His memories told him that he was supposed to be dead already but here he was now, Standing in his Pair of feet In full glory. Completely warm and breathing. Aside from Being naked, Messy, and dirty, There seems to be nothing wrong with him.

At the memory of his death, Luke suddenly Thought about the Love ones He left Behind. His parents, Sister, Friends, and of course, His lover. Tears welled up At the corner of his eyes as Luke fought the urge to Break into a fit of Sobs and Hiccups.

It was painful. Not Because of the Fate that he suffered under the Speeding car, But Because of What was going to happen To his girlfriend.

Growl.

As he was "Reminiscing" About his death and Past, Luke suddenly Heard a Low, Yet Threatening growl. How can he say that it was the Threatening type of growl? As an Animal enthusiast And one that was dreaming to become a Zoologist, Luke was Slightly Knowledgeable about Animals. Their characteristics, Behaviour, Sounds, and calls.

Such growls Like the one that he just heard Just earlier Probably came from Those Fanged, Large Cats In the animal kingdom. Ferocious, Vicious, Lethal, and dangerous. A Lone Figure of One said big cat can Already threaten the lives of Numerous people, Much less a Lone one like him.

As fear started creeping up to his heart, Luke Panicked And started looking around. Only to discover that he was Surrounded by Thich trees and Lush green Vegetation of plants and Small trees.

At the sight of that, Luke's Heart almost Went to a stop. He was in a very dire, Dangerous Situation. Surrounded by Trees where An extremely Dangerous Creature Was Lurking within its shadows, Yes, He was placed in a very dangerous situation.

When the realization of the situation Hits him, Luke Almost breaks down. He wasn't armed. Not even a single piece of clothing Remained In his body after his death. He wasn't Armed.

In Desperation, Luke Looked around Him, Looking for something usable to Fend off anything that might End his life any second now. After looking around, Luke Found a Short, Arm length Thick branch Lying Not far from him. He can probably use it.

Stretching his legs To walk towards the objective, Luke suddenly Found something That was slightly disturbing and Strange.

On his Right Wrist, A Rhombus Shaped Black Crystal seemed to be Embedded on his flesh. Red, Vein-like Markings Stretched towards his Palm where Luke Found another crystal. However, unlike the one on his Wrist, This one was Shaped Like a Hexagon. Also Black.

Confusion And Fear for the unknown struck Luke hard. This discovery Didn't even help In his current Situation as it Proved to be otherwise. It only gave him Another Set of Anxiety. Yet for some reason, Luke found this Scene to be Incredibly familiar, As if He'd already seen this Crystal before.

Growl.

There it was again. The Low growl from earlier. The Fear that disappeared Because of the crystal's Discovery Once again returned as Luke Rushed towards the Branch he found earlier before Raising it With both his hands, Acting Like a spear or some sort.

Silence Filled the Area as the Chirping of birds And the noises Made by Insects Vanished from His hearing As Luke Focused his Attention To his surroundings.

There!

At the Thick Bushes to his right, A Sudden Movement of leaves Caught his attention. Turning his 'Spear' To that direction, Luke watched As the Movements in the Bushes grew in intensity. The rustlings grew louder as The sound of Branches and Dry leaves being Stepped on reached his ears.

From within the Bushes, Under the Blanket of Shadows From within, Luke Saw something that made his Heart Stop. A pair of golden, Round Eyes Suddenly Appeared. Staring at him with great interest And Curiosity.

But The Expression on its eyes Was not the Thing that made this Heart Stop. It was It's 'Eyes'. Such Eyes Like That only belonged to Large Cat Predators, Wolves, Raptors, And Many Dangerous Predators in the jungle.

Luke can still remember the time when The school Went On a Wild Field trip. When Luke said that it was wild, Yes, It was pretty wild. Like, Literally. In the middle of An introduction inside The bus On the Savannah, A Cheetah Unknowingly Manage to creep up to Luke's Side Of the bus.

When Luke Turned To the Window beside him since the Continuous Blabbering of the guide Bored him, The sight of A Cheetah Mid-air with its claws and Mouth Opened wide open, Ready To clamp down to his neck to end his life in a matter of seconds Greeted his sight.

During that time, Luke And The Big cat Both stared at each other's Eyes. Emerald Orbs To Golden Ones. His was Pure shock and fear while the Cat's Was of Pure Savagery. Pure Killing Intent and pure. . . Curiosity. The Curiosity On how The Furless Monkey In front of it Will Struggle for its life.

Back to the present, Luke's Legs were now starting to shake. An Inexperienced Person like him Was unsurprisingly No match against Large predatory Mammals like these. Even with a 'Spear'.

Under The Scared Eyes of Luke, The Creature lurking within the shadows of the Bushes Slowly Stepped out. It's Long, Muscular Body Eventually Coming into view. Long, Slender tail, Lethal Claws sticking out of its paws, Fangs that can be seen Sticking out from its Mouth. Golden, Round eyes That was now Constricted Into Slits. Its jet black Fur Swaying Back and forth time It moved Towards Luke's Direction.

Luke Froze at the revelation of his Opponent.

It was a Black Panther.

The same black panther that was known to have the ability to climb trees. Expert In the field of Ambush and Sneak attacks. The Top Hunter Of the dark, Shadowy Night. Luke stood no chance if others were to witness this ssceneeee

Gripping His 'Spear' Tightly, Luke Readied himself for the harsh, Brutal and Life and death Incoming battle between him, And the Night Hunter.

Time seemed to Freeze As the Sounds of Animals and insects around them ceased. Creatures Nearby Stood in silence as if they've all felt the Very tense atmosphere In the air.

Time Flew by before the Panther Made its move.

Paws and claws Pushing against large the muddy Forest floor, The Black panther Leapt towards Luke's Direction before erupting into a full-powered Sprint toward him.

Eyes burning with determination, Luke threw His fears and worries into the back of his mind as he Firmly Stood his ground. Spear Gripped tightly by his hands as He Waited for the Big cat's Arrival. He's ready to fight for his life.

"It's either you or me, Huge Pussy cat. It's either you or me.", Murmured Luke as he charged forward to meet his Enemy Head.

Seeing his actions, The Black Panther seemed to Disdain Luke's Futile attempts before Increasing in speed and ferocity.

The Creatures around them held their breaths as the two Combatants Collided Head. 'Spear' Thrusts Forwards as fangs and claws Lashed Outwards.

Blood Erupted Into a Fountain as the Branch in Luke's hand Embedded itself to the Panthers Hind Front Legs As The Panther's Sharp claws Slashed his chest.

both let out a Groan as they Stepped backward at the same time. Emerald and golden eyes Both Burned with intensity. Both Containing massive amounts of desire.

One is the desire to live while the other was the desire to kill. It was a battle that will decide the fate Of One of them. It was a Life and Death Situation.